Beading Arts

This is the last wire project in our special series, created and shared by Paul Bishop , our wire-wrapping champ, of Bishop Wire & Bead .  Many many thanks to Paul...if you've seen my wire wrapping, you know that you don't want me doing these tutorials! Project #5 – Briolette Suspension You need: · A length of heavy half-hard wire, enough to go around the briolette with room to space and to create the extra bends and hanging loops. Since the wire is on the outside, soft wire will not be strong enough unless you can hammer it to hardness after formed. · Two lengths of soft, thinner wire. Soft is important. · A briolette. Any kind will do · Wire cutters · Circular/Oval forms (anything that you can wrap wire around. I used dowels. · Chain-nose and flat-nosed pliers · (Optional) Round-nosed pliers, jewelry hammer and anvil/bench block The hardest part of this is the metal frame. It needs to be very ...

  The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Like Czech glass? Andrew hosts a giveaway courtesy of Raven's Journey. Find out how you can win these luminous beads! A Bead A Day Looking to make some super-sized jewelry just perfect for a princess? Lisa uses large blueberry briolettes and a swarovski mix to create just that!   About.com Jewelry Making Tammy ask in this quick poll about how you use social networking to promote you and/or your jewelry business.   Art Bead Scene ABS is here to help you with your business. Check out Zazzle to customize your earring cards for your jewelry business. Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Book Review: Wrap, Stitch, Fold and Rivet Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi's button maker is the reason for this new vintage image necklace. Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva This week's Wednesday Wire is a free tutorial, "Matchin' by Wrappin'."   Earthenwood Studio Chro...

Every Bead Has a Story ~ Mixed Media Bead Embroidery Chapter Two: Altered Surfaces I am really excited to tell you that I finished my first pass in writing Chapter Two today!!  It needs to be cleaned up, converted to pdf and all that, and I am hoping to be able to launch it next week.  The earlier the better! Here's what's included: more stitches, techniques for altering your backgrounds before you start beading (think painting, collaging, making craft felt look like leather, etc), and two step-by-step projects to inspire you to use the new techniques!  Seventy-two pages in all...that's as long as some e-books are in total, and this is just Chapter Two.  Sheesh! Here's a sneak peek at one of the projects.  I'll show you the whole thing next week... Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Attracting more traffic is what leads to higher sales, so increased traffic is good, right? Well...only if it's the kind of traffic that's fairly likely to buy your work! There are two common mistakes that people make (I've made them both!) when they first get started trying to promote their website: joining Free For All sites (FFA) and expecting to make sales by posting on discussion boards. We can now add posting comments to blogs in this category too. Some FFA sites are free to join, others will cost you. All are useless. Your site will be posted to hundreds or thousands of useless non-indexed sites, your email will be deluged with spam offers for body part enhancement, and your life will become a living hell for awhile until you fall back off the radar. Posting to discussion boards and blogs is a great way to introduce yourself to the bead and jewelry community, and those of us who write or manage them LOVE to have your input...we really really do. But just ...

Laura McCabe's Embellished Beadweaving: Jewelry Lavished with Fringe, Fronds, Lacework & More by Laura McCabe Beadmaille: Jewelry with Bead Weaving & Metal Rings by Cindy Thomas Pankopf See my review! Crystal Brilliance: Making Designer Jewelry with Crystal Beads by Anna Elizabeth Draeger I'll be doing a giveaway with this book next week...stay tuned!! The Absolute Beginners Guide: Stringing Beaded Jewelry by Karin Buckingham Easy Beading Vol. 6: Fast. Fashionable. Fun. by Editors of BeadStyle magazine Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry: Techniques and Explorations by Kate McKinnon Bronze Metal Clay: Explore a New Material with 35 Projects by Yvonne M. Padilla Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

[ Editor's note : Another special project created and shared by Paul Bishop , our wire-wrapping champ, of Bishop Wire & Bead .  The last in the series will be posted next week...don't miss any of them! If you'd like to offer a tutorial on Beading Arts, by all means, contact me at cyndi @ mazeltovjewelry.com (remove the spaces), and let me know what you'd like to write about.] Artist: Paul Bishop Website: Bishop Wire & Bead Project #4 – Sodalite Delightful Wrapping stones can be fun and challenging. Fairly regular-shaped rocks are easiest. One with a distinct shape can prove a challenge. If you’re entirely new, pick a smooth rounded rock. It is far easier on the hands than a sharp one when it slips out of your grasp. You need: · An interesting stone. Mine was sodalite. · 3 soft wires, preferably of different gauges, but none less than 22 gauge. You could even mix wire colours, if the colours complement the stone. (note - If...

This is my Bead Journal Project piece for May. Flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere.  I started with some more fabric that I painted as the background.  I added some dyed paua shell beads to represent the stepping stones through my garden, and some fanciful small flowers that are peyote stitched.  There's a tutorial for the beaded flowers elsewhere.     January February March April Here are the instructions for how I am making these bracelets.   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Strands of Beads Like several of her esteemed colleagues, Melissa has a few pieces in the Bead Star competition to show off this week!   A Bead A Day Lisa explains her thoughts behind part 1 of a new bracelet project. About.com Jewelry Making Tammy recently took a trip to the Bahamas and discovered some souvenir pennies in her purse. They were so bright and shiny they had to be turned into jewelry.   Art Bead Scene It's the fifth month anniversary of the ABS Carnival Blog! Come see how we've grown!   Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts Take a jewelry class with me at CREATE!   Carmi's Art/Life World In an effort to use all that she buys, Carmi repairs and recycles vintage metal from Paris.   Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Cindy's starting a new feature on her blog - The Wednesday Wire! Come take a look!   Earthenwood Studio Chronicles A gift from a local potter starts Mela...

The Bead Bar gang contacted asked me to let you know about the exceptional stock and service that Central Floridians are already acquainted with...sound like a good reason for a road trip?  :-) Orlando, Fl 32803 (407) 426 - 8826 Bead Bar is a family-owned full service bead store and designer jewelry boutique that has been serving the Central Florida community since 1991. We offer the most diverse selection of fine beads and beading supplies in the area. We carry all the popular brands such as Toho seed beads, Miyuki Delicas, Swarovski and Thunder Polish Crystals, Fire Line, Beadalon, and much more. We also have collectibles like Chevron and other African trade beads, Vintage Venetian beads, Vintage German and Czech Beads, and even Ancient Roman Glass! Our products come from all over the globe, and our thirty years of industry experience allows us to offer the best stuff at the best prices. We have something for every age group, every project, and every budget. Our be...

You'll find a new sponsor ad over in the sidebar today... Meryl Pataky shares her beautiful jewelry and installation art with us.  From paper to neon tubing, Meryl enjoys it all!   Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

So far, not so good!  I've not yet found a satisfactory way to combine the new silicone product, Rubber Glass with polymer clay.  Cindy Lietz has been emailing back and forth with me, and just when we thought we might have it figured out, "disaster" struck! You see, the problem is that silicone doesn't stick to anything.  Not even to itself once it's cured.  No common epoxies or adhesives will stick it to anything else.  You think it's working while the glue is drying, but once it's totally dry, the silicone piece just pops right off.  There is a special adhesive called Sil-poxy which will stick it to other stuff, supposedly, but it's not a firm enough bond to trust with items that you're going to wear. So, Cindy thought we should try to embed the silicone pieces in liquid polymer clay.  I had some TLS, a Sculpey product on hand, so I gave it a whirl.  I deliberately chose pieces that had larger bottoms than tops so that there would be so...

If you've ever thought that you wanted to give online selling a try with your handmade products, Etsy is probably the site that will give you the most insider help and support.  Etsy has a fantastic resource page called the Etsy Seller Handbook . I'm telling you right now: whether you decide to sell specifically at Etsy or not, you'd be foolish not to check out the wealth of information that pertains to far more than just this site.  Besides the "how to make your Etsy shop work for you" links, there is also information on writing good copy, taking good photos, pricing, marketing and promoting, social networking and blogging, and keeping it all legal. Do not miss out! Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

   [ Editor's note : Once more I am happy to turn this blog over again to the wonderful wire work of Paul Bishop . This is Paul's third tutorial: please don't miss the rest of them this month! If you'd like to offer a tutorial on Beading Arts, by all means, contact me at cyndi @ mazeltovjewelry.com (remove the spaces), and let me know what you'd like to write about.] Artist: Paul Bishop Website: Bishop Wire & Bead Project #3 – A spiral on a front-top drilled flat pendant This tiger-eye pendant is smaller than my thumbnail. It’s about 3/4 inch wide and 1 inch tall. The hole for the wire is quite small, so I used a higher gauge wire (24?). The wire should have a snug fit in the hole. 1. Start a spiral by using your round-nose pliers to hold a wire at the very tip. 2. Wrap the wire tightly around one of the round-nose all the way back to the beginning. 3. Slip the wire into a pair of chain-nose or nylon pliers so the loop is in ...

Lucky # 7!  Congratulations to Genevieve, who just won a copy of Beadmaille !

Basic Wirework informational and suppliers links Book reviews:    Wire Wrapping    101 Wire Earrings    Contemporary Copper Jewelry    Chain Style Some simple tutorials:    Making a wrapped loop    A multi-strand necklace with wrapped loops    A "leftover" toggle necklace    Creating a wire and ribbon necklace    A freeform seed bead necklace on a wire armature    Copper necklace with wire links    A wire wrapped beach rock    A Crocheted wire necklace Tutorials by our wire guru, Paul Bishop:    Making a wire wrapped flower    A free-form wire wrap    A spiral on a flat pendant    Sodalite Delightful    Briolette suspension Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Snap out of it, Jean!There's beading to be done! Jean reviews Kate McKinnon's inspiring new book, Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry, with DVD included! Strands of Beads Melissa shows off new designs using cool skull beads and charms from Rings & Things The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton Andrew hosts another Thursday Giveaway! This time, the prize comes courtesy of Natural Touch Beads! Find out how you can win some awesome resin jewelry components! A Bead A Day Creating jewelry for special vacations can help you look forward to upcoming trips and keep the memories fresh afterwards. Art Bead Scene Art Bead Scene has a new look and some new opportunties to get involved. Come see! Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi uses some amazing digital images to create a new resin filled bezel necklace. Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva Check out the new beads on Cindy's site - Turquoise Sky!   Humblebeads Heather shares some sketches ...

The first project that I want to share with you that uses the new Rubber Glass product will cause you to wonder why I didn't just use resin. Several reasons: this silicone product is flexible, which means that you can cinch your beadwork tightly around it and have it actually dig in slightly. You can even stitch right through it if you want to. Once it is cured, you can fracture it so that it takes on the look of either glass or ice. No release agents are needed with your molds. It is crystal crystal clear when it dries so that anything embedded looks like it is trapped in glass.  Only the very clearest resin comes close. Basically, silicone and resins are two completely different products. Each has its best use, and since this form of silicone, Rubber Glass, is new to the market, we've just begun to figure out all we can do with it! Materials & Tools Rubber glass ( Smooth-On.com ) Brass wire Size 8/0 seed beads, ice blue Size 11/0 seed beads, ice blue S...

  Olivia Competente Digging deep into our archives here, I've found profiles with many wire artists that I think will inspire you to reach for your pliers! Wendy Van Camp Kelly Alvarez Mace Penny Purdie Leah Hitchcock-Ybarra Deborah Kwitney Bernadine Stoopman Olivia Competente Puakea Soares-Mercado Paul Bishop Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations   by Sherri Haab This is the next book that I desperately want to read!  The publication date was March 2010, I have seen the reviews, and they are GOOD.  Since no one wants to spend hard-earned money on a book that isn't worth it, I always read the reviews before I shell out.  Looks like I'm going to have to on this one since no one has sent me a review copy yet ;-) Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading